Youth programs boosted in Grand Traverse Band grant round

Michael Breazeale, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

Jul. 15—TRAVERSE CITY — The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians allocated $601,770 to 31 local grant applicants, much of it to boost youth programs.

The ceremony took place Friday morning at the Grand Traverse Resort.

Tribes v. Engler (U.S. District Court) stipulates that the Grand Traverse Band allocate 2 percent of its video gaming revenue to local units of government, biannually.

Under the terms of this consent decree, the Band has given $45,510,422.77 to local organizations since 1994, according to a recent GTB press release.

"We are thankful for the opportunity to participate in the 2 percent process," Chairman David Arroyo said. "The funds go to good causes and good neighbors. They help improve the quality of life in our communities."

According to Arroyo, 5.4 percent of this cycle's funds went to police and jailing fees; 10.1 percent went to firefighting and EMS services, 49 percent went to youth programs, more than 6 percent went to elders programs, 12 percent went to community programs, and 16 percent went to local parks and recreation.

The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners received $22,000 "for a partnership with CFS YouthWorks Program to support Veronica Park improvements, including the removal of invasive plant species," the release read.

Also Suttons Bay Public Schools received $109,000 to support the Indigenous Education Program; Traverse City Area Public Schools received $68,000 to provide academic and cultural support for Native American students; and Star Township's Elders Advisory Organization received over $37,000, with some of that money going toward the National Indian Commission on Aging.

The 2 percent allocation may have been settled through a legal negotiation with the State of Michigan, but generosity has always been an ethic of the Kitchiwikwedongsing (Grand Traverse Bay) people, according to GTB Elder Tom Peters.

"And not to give just little things," he said, "but to give the best that you have to another person."

While the Odaawaa (Ottawa), Ojibwe (Chippewa), and Boodewaadami (Poawatomi) are sovereign nations, "All the people here are a part of our family now," Peters said.

"No matter what color you are, no matter where you come from, we are all in this community today, together."

According to the press release, recipients of the second-half of this year's allocation will be decided in January 2024.